Grain-car-door-opening mechanism.



E. H. KIDDER.

GRAIN CAR DOOR OPENING MECHANISM- APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7.191s. RENEWEDFEB- 11. me,

1,268,580, Patented June 4, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITNESS: INVLN TOR. EI/W-Q f/A n/a er ,4. A TTORNE Y E. H.'KIDDER.-

GRAIN CAR DOOR OPENING MECHANISML A FPLICAHON FILED JUNE 7. l9l 6-RENEWED FEB. 11,1918.

1,268,580, Patented J une 4, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- WITNESS. 11v VENTOR.

1 ED 61% f ELWIN H. KID-DEB, OI CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GRAIN -CAR-DOOR-OP ENING MECHANISM.

1 ,zcasso.

Application filed June 7, 1916, Serial No. 102,168.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELWIN H. KIDDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Grain- Car-Door-Opening Mechanism, of which the followmg is a full, clear, concise, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings,'forin1ng a part of this specl fication.

This invention relates to improvements in grain car door openingmechanism.

As is Well known, in shipping gram in box cars, it is the most commonpractice to form the grain doors by nailing a series of boards or planksacross the side door openings, the boards or planks being nailed to theinner sides of the side door posts. In

unloadin the cars with this type/0f door,

great di culty has been heretofore exper1. enced since it has beennecessary to chop-the boards out with an ax, thus requiring much timeand labor and causing considerable loss of rain. 1 he object of' thepresent invention is to provide simple, strong and durable means,associated with a tiltable table, for automatically prying off the graindoors as the 80 car is tilted to one side and, more specifically, theobject of this invention 1s to provide such a means to cooperate withthe car unloader described and claimed in the patent issued to me, No.1,176,966, on March 28,

3 1916, to which reference is hereby made for amore detaileddescriptionof the car unloader proper.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is asideelevatlon of a portion ofa grain car shown in position on the carunloader disclosed in said Patent No. 1,17 6,966 and showing inconnection therewith my improved door openlng mechanism. Fig. 2, is avertical, transverse sectional view of the car unloadlng'devlce and dooropening mechanism, the full lines illustrating the position of the carbefore it 1s tilted and the dotted lines l-ndl'eatlng the relativepositions of the dooropenn'gmechani'smand car when the latter'istiltedlater- "ally. Fig.- 3 is a detail elevatiq'na} view showing gearing andratchet by which apart of the mechanism is operated. Fig. 4 1s an endelevation of part of the mechanism for effecting the vertical adjustmentof the door opening mechanism. Flg. 5 1s a sectional Specification ofLetters latent.

outwardly, or laterally with respect Patented June 4, 1918.

.Renewed February 11, 1918. Serial No. 216,649.

view taken substantially on the line 5-5 of therefor, Fig. 7corresponding substantially to the .line 77 of Fig. 1.

In said drawing, 10 denotes an ordinary box car adapted for carryinggrain, the same being run on to tracks 11 carried by an oscillatablecradle 12 which, in turn, is mounted on a longitudinally tiltable table13, one of the side frame members or girders 14: being illustrated inFigs. 1 and 2. The arrangement and operation of the tiltable table andoscillatable cradle, together with the means for clamping the carthereon while being tilted, is fully describedin'my said Patent No.1,176,966 and need not here be detailed;

The improved door opening mechanism siroper is preferably constructed asfollows:

ecured to the side frame or girder 14 of the table, and at the centerthereof, are two outwardly extending. builtup supports 1515, the topsof.which extend horizontally and flush with,the top of the side girder14.

Mounted on the tops of said supports 15154 are a pair of I beams 1616,the same having secured on their inner sides upper and lower angleirons17 and 18 to form a guide or track or channel having a plurality ofwheels 19-19 which carry a rectangular frame 20 built-u from channel orother suitable structura shapes. By the means above described, it isapparent that the rectangular frame 20 is adjustable inwardly arlild tot e car, on the I beams 1616. To efi'ee t this lateral movement, theframe 20 has secured to its underside a horizontal rack 2 l, at itscenter, with which ooiiperates a PlIllOIl 22 mounted on a longitudinallyextending shaft 23. The latter is'mounted in suitable bearings-providedin the supports'15 andat one end thereof has "a gea'r'wheel 2 1 withwhich meshes asmaller' driving gear wheel 2%, the latter beingpreferably manually operated as by the crank 26. As is clearlyillustrated in Fig. 3, short shaft 27 which carriesj the gear 25 is alsoprovided with a ratchet wheel "28 with which is, adapted to cotiperate alocking .pawl 29 suitably pivotally mountedon the adjacent I beam 16.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the operator can adjust theframe 20 inwardly and outwardly by turning the crank 26 and that theframe 20 can be locked in any desired position by means of the pawl 29.

Carried by the frame 20 and near the outer edge thereof, are twoupstanding channels 3030 connected at their tops by longitudinallyextending channels '31. The tops of said channels 3030 are also'rigidlyconnected with the inner portion of the frame 20 by suitable diagonallyextending tension elements 32. channels 30, as indicated at 33, isa'substantially horizontally arranged frame work having side channels34, the latter extending inwardly substantially to the side wall of thecar when the latter is in normal position on the crad1e 12. Extendingbetween the channels 34, at their inner ends, is a horizontally arrangedshaft or pivot 35 mounted in suitable bearings 36 secured to thechannels 34, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 7. Pivotally mounted on thepivot member 35 is the grain door pry-off member which, as shown,preferably comprises a substantially rectangular frame designatedgenerally by the reference A. The pry-off frame A comprises twosubstantially vertically extending side members in the form of I beams37, a cross top angle 38 and a cross bottom angle 39, said arts beingfurther braced and strengthened bydiagonal angle members 4040. The sidemembers or I beams 37 of the pry-ofi member A are provided withelongated slots 41 to permit a vertical movement of the member A on thepivot pin 35. The normal position of the pry-off member A is as mostclearly illustrated in Fig. 2 by the full lines and this is preferablyaccomplished by means of a 44 and at their extreme lower ends areprovided with knife edges 45 so arranged that the same are adapted toslip under the lower board 46 of the grain door.

To adapt thedoor opening mechanism for cars having the floors atdifferent levels, the pry-oft member A and the horizontal thrust membersby which it is supported are made adjustable vertically about the pivots33. This is accomplished by, means of a pair of diagonally extendingangle irons 46' pivotally connected at their upper inner ends to theshaft 35 and at their lower outer ends pivotally attached to eye bolts47. The latter are provided with threaded sections 48 ,(see Fig. 5),which cooperate with rotatable Pivotally connected to the threadedsleeves 49 mounted in suitable bearings 50 aflixed to the verticalposts"30.

Each of the sleeves 49 is extended rearwardly to the outside of thebearing and has keyed thereto a sprocket wheel 51. The sprocketwheels'51 as show'nin Fig. 1,, are connected by a chain belt 52 so thatthe same will be operated simultaneously and eqvjtlly. One of thesleeves 49, preferably the one adjacent the mechanism for adjusting theframe 20 inwardly and outwardly, has keyed thereto a crank handle 53, toeflect the verti-. cal adjustment as will be apparent.

A chute 54 is located between the supporting members 1515 to receive thegrain as discharged from the car and diverted to the desired point.

In employing my invention, the loaded grain car is first run on to thetracks 11 and clamped as described in my said Patent No. 1,176,966.carried thereby is then adjusted laterally to the proper positiondepending upon the location of the grain door. The pry-off member A isalso adjusted vertically to such a position that the knife edges thereofwill lie flush with the threshold of the door opening.

As the car is tilted laterally by oscillating the cradle 12, in themanner described in said patent, it is apparent that the knife edges 45are underneath the lowermost boards of the grain door and as the carconboards of the door will first be priedoflf and gradually thesucceeding higher boards. On account of the curved faces provided on thepry olf member A, it is apparent that the grain door boards will beforced off in succession rather than simultaneously, therebyfacilitating the operation as will be understood. In this operation, itwill be ap- The frame 20 with the parts tinues its tilting movement, thelowermost parent that the frame 20 is preventet from outward movementand hence the thrust members 34 will be held stationary. The pry-offmember A is permitted to swing or tilt about the pivot 35 and thusaccommodate itself to the gradually changing position of the car and itsdoor. As the movement of the car is continued, the pry-off member A Iwill be forced downwardly somewhat against the action of the spring 42,this movement .bemg limited by the length of the slots 41,-

and the final angle to which the pry-ofl member A can be tilted, isdetermined by the channel43 which serves as a combined stop and backingfor said member A. The

dotted lines in Fig. 2 represent the car when it has been tiltedlaterally. to the full extent and as there shown, it will be seen thatthe door boards have been'pried oil" and forced inwardly and thegrainpermitted to flow out beneath the lower edge of the grain door. ,Thegrain can be permitted to flow sufliciently to clear the door, afterwhich the same may be removed and the car then particularly that typedisclosed in my said.

Patent No. 1,176,966; the same may be cheaply constructed fromcommercial structural shapes; the same can be adjusted for cars ofdifferent widths and having different floor heights; and the entireoperation of prying-off the door is accomplished automatically andsimultaneously with the tilting of the car laterally in the unloadingoperation,

I claim:

1. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with amember provided with rails and means for tilting a car laterally whileon said rails and immovable with respect thereto, of a relativelystationary device located to one side of the car for forcing a sidegrain door of the car inwardly while the car is being tilted laterallytoward said device.

2. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with meansfor tilting a car laterally, of a relatively stationary device locatedto one side of the car for forcing a side grain door of the car inwardlywhile the car is being tilted laterally toward said device, said devicebeing adj ustable inwardly and outwardly relative to the car to therebycooperate with cars of different widths.

' 3. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with meansfor tilting a car laterally, of a relatively stationary device locatedtoone side of the car for forcing a side grain door of the car inwardlywhen the car is tilted laterally to ward said device, said device havingelements thereof adjustable vertically to thereby adapt the same for usewith cars having different floor levels.

4. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with meansfor tilting a car laterally, of a relatively stationary device locatedto one side of the car for forc ing a side grain door of the carinwardly when the car is tilted laterally toward said device, saiddevice being adjustable laterally as an entirety and having portionsthereof adjustable vertically whereby to adapt the device forcooperation with cars of different widths and having different floorlevels.

5. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with arelatively stationary supporting framework, of a unitary, relativelyrigid frame horizontally and slidably adjustably mounted on saidframework, a pry-off member carried by said frame and adapted to engagethe grain door of a car and force the same inwardly when the car andsaid pry-ofi member are moved relatively to each other, and means forlocking said frame as a unit with respect to said framework during saidrelative movement.

6. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with asupporting framework, of a frame adjustably mounted thereon bodily as aunit, a pry-off member pivotally attached to said frame and arranged toengage the grain door of a car and pry the same inwardly of the car whenthe latter and said pry-off member are moved relatively to each other,and means for locking said frame as a unit in adjusted position withrespect to said framework during said relative movement.

7 In combination with means for tilting a car sidewise, a door pry-offmember mounted on a relatively fixed support, said member being curvedon its inner face and adapted to engage the grain door of a car, saidcurved face causing different portions of the grain door to be pried oilin succession.

8. In a grain car door opening mechanism, the combination with asuitable support, of a pry-off member pivotally mounted on said support,said pry-off member having a' curved operating face adapted to prydiiferent portions of the door in succession.

9. In a grain car door opening mechanism, the combination with asuitable support, of a pry-elf member carried by said support, saidpry-off member being curved on its inner operating face and having knifeedges at the bottom thereof whereby to engage the lowermost portion ofthe grain door first and force the same inwardly of the car uponrelative movement between the car and said member. I

10. In combination with means for tilting a car sidewise, a grain dooropening mechanism including, a frame adjustable inwardly and outwardlyrelatively to the side of the car, and a pry-off member pivotallymounted on said frame and located to engage the grain door' of the carwhen the latter is tilted sidewise.

pry-off member pivotally mounted on said frame work, said pry-off memberbeing'adjustable vertically and located so as to engage the grain doorof the car when the latter is tilted.

12. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with asuitable support, of a frame adjustably. mounted on pivotally mounted onsaid thrust member,

and means for adjusting the thrust member to thereby vary the height ofthe pry-off member. 1

13. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with atiltable table having a, cradle rockably mounted thereon. the latterbeing adapted to support a car and tilt the latter to one side, ofsupporting elements rigidly fixed to said table, aframe adjustableinwardly and outwardly relatively to the car when on'said cradle, meanfor locking said frame in adjusted position, thrust members carried bysaid frame, and a pry-ofl' member pivotally mounted on said thrustmember andv arranged to engage the grain door of a car when the latteris tilted to one side to thereby pry ofl the door as the car is beingtilted.

14. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with atiltable table having a cradle rockably mounted thereon, the latterbeing adapted to support a car and tilt the latter to one side, ofsupporting elements rigidly fixed to said table, a frame adjustableinwardly and outwardly relatively to the car when on said cradle, meansfor locking said frame in adjusted position, thrust members carried bysaid frame and a pry-01f member pivotally mounted on said thrust memberand arranged to engage the grain door of a car having a cradle rockablymountedthereon,

when the latter is tilted to one side to thereby pry ofi the door as thecar is being tilted, said pry-off member being curved inwardly at its"lower edge to thereby engage the lowermost boards of the door first andpry the boards of the door 0E in succession as the car is tilted.

16. In combination with mechanism arranged to support a car and to tiltit both endwise and sidewise after it is in position on the support andrelatively stationary thereto, of car side door pry-ofl' means asso--ciated with said mechanism, said means being adjustable vertically andlaterally to thereby adapt the same for operating on cars of differentdimensions, said means being arranged to engage a side door for its fullheight and operable to pry off the entire side door while the car issupported on said mechanism.

17. The combination with mechanism for unloading a car filled withmaterial in'bulk, of means in juxtaposition with respect to saidmechanism, said means being adjustable vertically and laterallyto'thereby operate on cars of different dimensions, said means having amember arranged to engage the door from top to bottom and therebyadapted to pry oil the entire door of the car at one operation when thecar is on said mechanism. a

Inwitness that I claim-the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 5th day of June, 1916.

ELWIN H. KIDDER.

Witness I Josnrn HARRIS.

